With the 2023 NFL season finally underway, it’s only right that the NFL urgency meter needle starts to move for certain teams. Is there plenty of season left? Of course. Did Week 1 raise plenty of concerns? Absolutely.
These three locker rooms needed to take a hard look in the mirror after Week 1. A Week 2 rebound should be their only focus while ramping up for their next game. Let’s see how badly the Steelers, Bengals, and Giants need to pick up a win this week if they want to achieve their goals this season.
Below, each team has a five-point urgency meter that ranks how desperately they need to get their first victory in Week 2.
Pittsburgh Steelers Urgency Meter: 4/5
Losing to the San Francisco 49ers isn’t a reason to panic on its own. Especially not for a team that still employs a healthy T.J. Watt, one of the NFL’s true one-man wrecking crews. Yet, how they lost and some issues that popped up are reasons that Pittsburgh’s upcoming Monday night game is teetering on must-win territory.
It starts with major two injuries from last Sunday’s loss. Wide receiver Diontae Johnson, who led the team in receiving yards the past three seasons, is out for a few weeks with a hamstring injury. Along the defensive front, three-time All-Pro Cam Heyward went down with a groin injury and will also be sidelined for multiple weeks. Those are two massive personnel losses after one week.
Then there’s the Steel City elephant, Matt Canada, who operates as the team’s offensive coordinator and play caller. Ask any Steelers fan how they feel about him. His presence has been a contentious topic when discussing a Steelers offense that finished worse than 20th in scoring during his first two seasons as coordinator. Questionable decisions led to only seven points on Sunday. Based on Pittsburgh’s history, he’s not going anywhere until after the season if they move on, which seems to be for the worse going forward.
"Canada called two variations of shallow cross eight times against the 49ers. On those plays, Pickett was 1-of-4 (25 percent), had one pass picked off, another nearly intercepted and was sacked twice." 😑 https://t.co/CNg2ICZ3uG
— Mina Kimes (@minakimes) September 12, 2023
This brings the Steelers to a Week 2 clash with the Cleveland Browns. A Steelers loss would make the Browns 2-0 (both against the AFC North), while the Steelers would drop to 0-2 and two wins behind in the divisional record tiebreaker. That’s without mentioning that the Ravens could also be 2-0 (1-0 versus the AFC North) by Monday’s kickoff.
Pittsburgh needs to avoid an early hole if they want to return to the postseason. Remember, if they started better than 1-4-0 last season they would’ve made the playoffs. If the Steelers didn’t have two winnable games after Cleveland, this would be a five on the urgency meter.
Cincinnati Bengals Urgency Meter: 2/5
Cincinnati is in a similar boat as their division rivals, but there’s no need to panic on this team. The Bengals’ Week 1 loss by the Browns’ hands is nothing new, as it was the franchise’s sixth consecutive loss in Cleveland. Overall, Cincinnati is only 2-9 against the Browns since 2018.
There’s also the fact that starting quarterback Joe Burrow nursed a calf injury all preseason. Getting him, and thus the offense, up to game speed was always going to be an uphill battle in Week 1. Facing a tough Browns defense led by Myles Garrett in the rain didn’t help their pass-heavy attack at all. The offensive line was a glaring issue, but that shouldn’t come as a surprise.
If it weren’t for Cincinnati’s Week 2 opponent, this would be a firm 1/5 on the urgency meter. However, the Baltimore Ravens are coming to town and that will probably be the greatest threat to the Bengals’ pursuit of a third straight AFC North crown. Still, notoriously slow starters dropping a Week 1 game in the franchise’s house of horrors almost seemed like a given with hindsight.
On to Week 2. pic.twitter.com/buMKUVPu8x
— Cincinnati Bengals (@Bengals) September 11, 2023
Baltimore may be tougher, but the Bengals play them better. They’re also in the jungle for Week 2, which should give them a boost. Even if this ends up being a loss, a slew of winnable games are on the horizon.
New York Giants Urgency Meter: 5/5
Through a combination of Murphy’s Law and getting manhandled up front, Sunday Night Football was a disaster for the New York Giants. Some may point to the 2007 team, which got whooped by Dallas in Week 1 and the Packers in Week 2 before winning the Super Bowl. However, those were the NFC’s top two seeds that season, whereas the upcoming Arizona Cardinals are not going to sniff the playoffs.
Coach Daboll recaps tonight's loss to the Cowboys
Watch: https://t.co/CBAATvNH3b pic.twitter.com/ut9WK0svhf
— New York Giants (@Giants) September 11, 2023
This game needs to be a win for the Giants because their upcoming schedule is tough. After Arizona, the Giants are staring down the 49ers, Seahawks, Dolphins, and Bills in a row. Their biggest issue from Week 1, the offensive line, needs to figure something out this week, or else this season is over.
Along with those teams, New York will also have to contend with the Eagles twice, the Commanders twice, the Jets, Dallas again, and a few more defensive fronts that will eat the line alive. Forget closing in on Philadelphia and Dallas in the division, can this team even come close to .500 blocking like that? Starting with a confidence-building win this week is an essential start considering it’s the easiest game New York has.
Other aspects of Week 1’s loss deserve to be scrutinized, such as the run defense and turnovers. However, the bottom line is that the Giants are staring down a must-win game already with what lies ahead. The Cardinals put up a fight last weekend, so the urgency meter on New York’s NFC team is cranked to the max. If this isn’t a win, next year’s draft pick will probably be very high.
